New Delhi: The government on Friday shot down a suggestion in the Lok Sabha for setting up a committee under the Member of Parliament in respective constituencies for monitoring disbursement of loans by banks to priority sector like agriculture, small and medium enterprises.
"My response is no. We cannot allow commercial activities
of banks to be supervised by the representatives of the
people," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in the Lok
Sabha during Question Hour.
Jagdish Sharma (JD-U) asked whether the government would
consider forming a committee under the chairmanship of the
Member of Parliament of the concerned constituency to monitor
disbursement of loans there.
Many years ago this issue was debated and a committee was
appointed under the chairmanship of VK Krishna Menon, he
said adding that, "At that point of time the public sector was
coming and so it was suggested that the committee of the
Parliament represented by the Committee on Public Undertakings
could look into the functioning of the public sector.
"But individual MPs or individual banks or their
transactions cannot be allowed to be looked into by the MPs or
by any extraneous elements," he said.
Replying to another remark by a member that bank managers
do not listen to the suggestions by them, the Minister assured
the House that such cases would be looked into.
"Surely I will issue instruction, it is expected that
the MPs should be extended due courtesy.
"If a public office holder and somebody does not do it,
it is dereliction of duty but at the same time I will
request the MPs, as I sometimes receive individual loan
application and for advocacy for individual loans, is not the
job of the Members of Parliament," Mukherjee added.
PTI
First Published: Friday, December 11, 2009, 15:21